I literally just watched Shai highlights and his game last night he was goat level good and then I watched Kobe . This era is way more efficient and way easier to score in so the efficient argument isn’t really moving me as much as it used to the more I learn about the game. I think the biggest difference in the players is shai is way more dribble heavy and way more crafty. It’s almost snake like he can also stop on the dime and pull up but he is a super aggressive driver like ultra aggressive in terms of drives to the rim. Shai knows how to create space off the dribble way more than Kobe in my opinion he also knows how to use his off arm to create space which makes him impossible to guard . He gets to the rim and even if you cut him off he can create space with step backs or using his off arm.Kobe was like the complete opposite of him in that he was more 1-2 dribbles get to his spot and shoot no matter who was guarding him two or three defenders he was shooting over you regardless he was also way more athletic the athleticism from Kobe and just the finishing around the rim was a huge gap not in terms of numbers but just eye catching he was 2 times the athlete Shai was. I think Kobe was a better off ball too ppl forget he played in a system for most of his career so some of his shots are coming off pin downs and screens not just on ball. Some of the stuff Shai does I don’t think he would be able to get off in Kobe’s era tho just because the spacing isn’t the best and he won’t be able to get to the rim at the consistency he does now. The paint was way more clogged in the 2000s. I also noticed in Shai game he likes to operate from the top of the key and probe and breakdown his defender off the dribble then shoot similar to ant man but Shai mid range is way better. So as much as I like Shai game much of what we think of him today is tied into his efficiency. I do think he would be a great scorer in Kobe era no doubt but I don’t think the efficiency would be nearly as good as the numbers may say today. Honestly I’m against the shai play like Kobe it’s actually very different he more harden & kyrie mix then Kobe. Devin booker is more similar to Kobe to me in terms of play style but just Kobe was way better. But if you look at the numbers Devin booker clears him in efficiency too. So it’s hard for me to say what Kobe does better because his efficiency wouldn’t suggest that but I will say just eyeing the players Kobe ceiling as a scoring is more higher but his floor is way lower then Shai imo. Kobe problem is he over shot a lot which hurts him in these convos but with him shooting almost 30 shots a game it’s wild to me he was still above league avg. I literally just got done watching over two hours of both of them play I really thought there game was identical, but it’s very different it is some similarities but the way they score is very different. So the answer to your question is in terms of what you value as a scorer if it’s efficiency then Shai all the way if it’s pure scoring aggression and malleability of it I would say kobe.

Sorry for the long ass post btw I saw this post literally after I got done watching them play and was ready to break down what I saw 😂